Anisimova has said she picked up her first tennis ball and developed an interest in the sport thanks to her older sister, Maria.

“My sister ended up playing for UPenn at college. So when I was little, she was playing tennis," Anisimova told the Women's Tennis Association. "I always saw her playing, and I wanted to do it, too. That’s how I got into it and my parents got into it, too.”

Anisimova made her French Open debut two years ago, earning a wild-card spot at 15.

Although she has Russian roots, she told The New York Times in 2017 that she has never visited her parents' home country or considered representing it on the court.

“I never considered representing Russia,” Anisimova said. “I do plan on going, though. I really want to visit and see what it’s like and see the culture more.”

She is the youngest woman to reach the French Open semifinals since Nicole Vaidisova, who was also 17 at the time, in 2006.

She won her first Tour title this year in Bogota, becoming the youngest American to win a title since Serena Williams won Indian Wells in 1999, according to Reuters.

At 17 years and 10 months old, Anisimova is also the youngest American to reach a Grand Slam semifinal since Venus Williams did so when she was 17 years and two months at the 1997 U.S. Open.

Should she tire of tennis, Anisimova has said she would like to become a surgeon.

“If I didn’t play tennis, I’d want to be a surgeon,” she said. “Actually what I want to do is go to online college while I’m in my pro career and then go to med school after I finish.”